Peter Karl Kresl

The Global Urban Competitiveness Report - 2010 is an empirical study of the competitiveness of 500 cities around the world This one-of-a-kind resource draws on a wealth of data sources, all of which are described and assessed Using a sophisticated methodology and a team of 100 researchers from the Chinese Academy of Social Science, the book not only ranks these cities but also presents a wealth of information with regard to the strengths and weaknesses of each city in relation to each other The book includes a full discussion of the factors that create urban competitiveness, what sorts or categories of cities are most competitive, and comments on the policies and initiatives that are adopted by the most competitive cities. Scholars and researchers in the areas of urban economics, planning, geography, and regional economics will find the information invaluable, as will local authorities, decision-makers, and economic planners in cities throughout the world.

Exploring the impacts of the severe disruption caused by COVID-19 on major cities, Peter Karl Kresl expertly expands upon the nature of the challenges this has posed. He examines the policies that local leaders can adopt to limit long-lasting negative impacts and renew cities’ vitality and competitiveness. Kresl conducts a unique investigation into how even the most internationally engaged cities and larger urban regions can decline in competitiveness and identifies opportunities for how they might regain it. Chapters cover measures introduced to protect populations, such as distance working, and how these created issues for central business districts, subsequently decreasing the quality of life for workers dependent on retail and hospitality sales in these areas. Using examples from Europe, North America, and Oceania, the book details the process of regaining urban competitiveness and provides a guide for policymakers on how to manage future existential threats to urban areas. Urban Competitiveness and the Post-COVID City is an invaluable resource for students and researchers of urban economics and policy. Policymakers will also find essential recommendations for public policy as well as analysis of the urban consequences of social distancing and work-from-home measures.

US society today is widely seen as being split into constituencies which have sequestered themselves in two or more silos, with policy discussion between them having become impossible. The treatise of this book is that denizens of the United States need not be confined in silos but, rather, that major economic policies – drugs, alcohol, and suicide; schooling; major economic issues; infrastructure, urban and regional policy; and the environment – have powerful impacts on many members of each of these silos. From this recognition comes an understanding that public policy initiatives that treat each of the policy areas with equity are conceivable and can in fact be implemented. In addition, individuals will be able to engage in the destruction of disrespectful silo-to-silo bickering and work to create a dialogue based on mutual understanding that has been sorely missing for the past several years. The author stresses that are few things that are of more importance for society’s collective future than bridging these barriers. This passionate analysis of Public Policy in Contentious Times will be of great interest to academics interested in urban and regional issues and in the formation of public policy. It will also be helpful to political consultants and politicians, and individuals who are ardently interested in contemporary politics.

This unique and insightful work examines the importance of 'quality of life' for the city which has become a key component of urban competitiveness over the past 30 years. It argues that having a high or low 'quality of life' will have important consequences for the vitality and status of any city. Throughout the book, emphasis is placed upon the skilled, highly mobile and generally younger labour force who choose the city in which they want to work and live based on the 'quality of life' elements offered to them. Consequently, there is mounting pressure on today's cities and the firms in their economies to create environments that are attractive to the new-age of the workforce and the key resource in the economy. The book's eight substantive chapters explore this issue by each examining a distinct element that comprises 'quality of life', including the approach of economists to quality of life, links to urban competitiveness, the economy, urban amenities and attributes. Providing an original perspective on contemporary cities and their economies, The City and Quality of Life will be essential reading for city and company leaders who implement policy and wish to further understand the attributes of 'quality of life' for their citizens. It will also be useful for researchers, university professors and students in disciplines such as economics and finance, geography and urban studies.

Much recent research in Urban Studies has concentrated on the notion of the ‘global city’ but discussion has also covered a larger set of mega cities, with populations in excess of 10 million. This analysis has begged the question of the optimal size for a city – is larger always better? Smaller Cities explores the advantages and disadvantages of different sized cities, trying to determine their place in the global economy and hierarchy. How can smaller cities gain or retain their competitiveness in a world of large cities? In a globalized world, the nation has perhaps been diminished as an economic actor, with fiscal shortcomings and political gridlock leaving cities more or less on their own in the task of enhancing their competitiveness and improving the economic lives of their residents. This book argues that smaller cities of varying population can be important actors in competitiveness and aims to bring attention to an area often overlooked by researchers. In short, are Pittsburgh, San Diego and Austin less competitive than London and Mumbai? This volume will be of interest to students, researchers, and city professionals who work in urban economy and urban geography.

For the past 150 years, architecture has been a significant tool in the hands of city planners and leaders. In Creating Cities/Building Cities, Peter Karl Kresl and Daniele Ietri illustrate how these planners and leaders have utilized architecture to achieve a variety of aims, influencing the situation, perception and competitiveness of their cities. Whether the objective is branding, re-vitalization of the economy, beautification, development of an economic and business center, status development, or seeking distinction with the tallest building, distinctive architecture has been an essential instrument for those who manage the course of a city's development. Since the 1870s, and the reconstruction of Chicago following the Great Fire, architecture has been affected powerfully by advances in design, technology and materials used in construction. The authors identify several key elements in such a strategic initiative, and in the penultimate chapter examine several cases of cities that have ignored one or more of these elements and have failed in their attempt. A unique set of insights into this fascinating topic, this study will appeal to specialists in urban planning, economic geography, and architecture. Readers interested in urban development will also find its coverage accessible and enlightening.

Much recent research in Urban Studies has concentrated on the notion of the ‘global city’ but discussion has also covered a larger set of mega cities, with populations in excess of 10 million. This analysis has begged the question of the optimal size for a city – is larger always better? Smaller Cities explores the advantages and disadvantages of different sized cities, trying to determine their place in the global economy and hierarchy. How can smaller cities gain or retain their competitiveness in a world of large cities? In a globalized world, the nation has perhaps been diminished as an economic actor, with fiscal shortcomings and political gridlock leaving cities more or less on their own in the task of enhancing their competitiveness and improving the economic lives of their residents. This book argues that smaller cities of varying population can be important actors in competitiveness and aims to bring attention to an area often overlooked by researchers. In short, are Pittsburgh, San Diego and Austin less competitive than London and Mumbai? This volume will be of interest to students, researchers, and city professionals who work in urban economy and urban geography.

While much of the current literature on the economic consequences of an aging population focuses on the negative aspects, this enlightening book argues that seniors can bring significant benefits – such as vitality and competitiveness – to an urban economy. The authors illustrate the ways an aging population can have a positive impact on urban centers, including the move by large numbers of seniors from the suburbs to the city, where their disproportionate consumption of education and the arts helps rejuvenate city centers. Given this, the authors conclude that a large and active senior population has the potential to assist a city in the achievement of its strategic economic objectives. The book includes analyses of the effects of population aging on best practices in 40 cities in the US and EU, with surprising results, as well as interviews with city officials and leaders. Academics, researchers and public officials in the areas of urban development, public policy and aging will find much in this original approach to interest and provoke debate.

Peter Kresl brings unique and invaluable empirical evidence, from the early 1990s through to 2005, to examine the relationship between urban competitiveness and economic-strategic planning for ten internationally networked cities within the EU. Planning Cities for the Future links the study of urban economic competitiveness with urban planning and is able to ascertain the crucial factors for success in this area of public policy. These factors include effective governance, leadership and monitoring of performance. The author also reveals how economic turbulence - macro-economic stagnation, the emergence of competitors such as China and Central Europe and the introduction of the euro for example - all have distinct impacts on the economic development of cities. He also suggests that today's economic strengths may create tomorrow's social pathologies, a fact which city planners must always keep in mind. Peter Kresl's book offers examples of cities that got it right and others that did not. Scholars and researchers interested in public sector economics, urban economic development and planning as well as city planners themselves will find much to interest and stimulate them in this book.

Three decades of accelerated trade and financial market liberalization have had significant and lasting impacts on the global economy and its component entities. In this volume, Peter Karl Kresl and Earl Fry examine the impacts of these profound changes on the economies of urban areas, and the responses to them. They provide a comprehensive treatment of the issues surrounding internationalization, such as urban transport, communication, and production. In addition, the authors explore the effects of internationalization on municipal foreign affairs, urban governance, inter-city relations and structures, and strategic planning. As nation states have diminished their intervention in local economies, cities have been forced to implement new forms of governance, cooperative inter-city relationships, and city diplomacy. These aspects of globalization have presented urban economies with challenges and threats to existing activities as well as potentially positive opportunities for development of higher value-added, higher-skilled activities. Forced to take a new look at their international competitiveness, many city leaders have launched strategic planning initiatives. Through these they hope to facilitate development of activities that will improve the economic lives of residents and enable their city to maintain or advance its competitiveness and its position in the urban hierarchy. This unique study will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of economics, urban studies, and public policy, as well as to those in city administrative and leadership positions.

This book is the first in English to comprehensively examine the French economy and how it is adjusting to the exigencies of an increasingly globalized environment. The opening of the French market to international competition has forced recent governments to realize that the old closed model in which France had considerable autonomy over policy is no longer valid. French solutions to domestic problems had to be given up in the early 1980s. Changes in technology have had dramatic impacts on the comparative advantage of French producers and the necessary restructuring has been far from easy. These twin aspects of globalization have also altered the situation of France's various regions and urban economies and the highly centralized structure has come under pressure. This has forced a change in the thinking of French public and private sector leaders. The role of the state, the degree of intervention, the extent of control over the domestic economy, and the need to be accommodative to market forces have all been subject to public debate and to fundamental reconsideration. While this is a book on the French economy, Kresl and Gallais deal with issues, challenges, and processes of change and adaptation that are facing all of Europe, and indeed all industrialized economies. Economists, political scientists, business scholars and anyone interested in globalization will find this comprehensive study engaging and topical.